Body armour jacket

ABSTRACT

A body armour jacket, which may be easily donned and doffed and may be conveniently opened for purposes of comfort or ventilation, includes a front body assembly and a back body assembly, the front body assembly comprising a right armour section, a left armour section, and a center armour flap. The ends of the right and left armour sections are in abutting relationship and are fastened together by a fastener. The center armour flap is hinged to one of the sections along a line spaced from its abutting end and is fastenable by another fastener to the other section along a line spaced from its abutting end, such that the center armour flap, when closed, bridges the abutting ends of both sections.

United States Patent [19 Cohen BODY ARMOUR JACKET [76] Inventor: William A. Cohen, 1556 N. Sierra Madre Villa, Pasadena, Calif. 91 107 [22] Filed: July 11, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 378,207

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Oct. 4, i972 Israel 40502 [52] US. Cl. 2/2.5 [51] Int. Cl. F41h 1/02 [58] Field of Search 2/2.5

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,640,987 6/1903 Ehlers 2/2.5 2,743,446 5/1956 Persico et al. 2,748,391 6/1956 Lewis et al 2,954,563 10/1960 DeGl'azio 3,130,414 4/1964 Bailey et a1. 2/2.5

[451 Apr. 16, 1974 3,392,406 7/1968 Pernini et al. 2/2.5

Primary ExaminerA1fred R. Guest Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Benjamin J. Barish 5 7] ABSTRACT A body armour jacket, which may be easily donned and doffed and may be conveniently opened for pur poses of comfort or ventilation, includes a front body assembly and a back bodyassembly, the frontbody assembly comprising a right armour section, a left armour section, and a center armour flap. The ends of the right and left armour sections are in abutting relationship and are fastened together by a fastener. The center armour flap is hinged to one of the sections along a line spaced from its abutting end and is fastenable by another fastener to the. other section along a line spaced from its abutting end, such that the center armour flap, when closed, bridges the abutting ends of both sections.

7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures BODYARMOUR JACKET BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to body armour jackets such as are used by soldiers and policemen to provide body protection against small arms fire, shrapnel, and the like.

A number of body armour jackets have been designed. In one type, the front assembly of the jacket includes a fabric carrier and a one-piece armour insert. Such a jacket, however, is not openable from the front and therefore is inconvenient to don and doff, sometimes uncomfortable to wear, and difficult to ventilate. Another known form of body armour jacket is made of flexible armour, such as ballistic nylon, and includes a front closure arrangement by overlapping the armour on the inside. Such an arrangement, however, would not be satisfactory with rigid armour, as distinguished from flexible armour, since rigid armour would produce undue discomfort in the chest and abdominal regions because of the armour rigidity.

Insofar as I am aware, a rigid armour body jacket having a front closure has not yet been devised. An object of the present invention is to provide such a body armour jacket.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the invention, there is provided a body armour jacket including a front body assembly and a back body assembly joined thereto, characterized in that the front body assembly comprises a right armour section, a left armour section, and a center armourflap.

The ends of the right and left armour sections are in abutting relationship and are fastened together by a first openable and closable fastener. The center armour flap is hinged to one of said sections along a line spaced from its abutting end and is fastenable by a second openable and'closable fastener to the other of said sections along a line spaced from its abutting end, such that the center'armour flap, when closed, bridges the abutting ends of both said. armour sections.

According to another feature of the invention, the right and left armour sectionsand said center armour flap each comprises a fabric carrier and a rigid armour plate insert. 1

In the preferred embodiment of the invention described below, the center armour flap is hinged to one of these sections by stitching. Also, the first mentioned fastener is a slide-fastener, and the second-mentioned fastener comprises a series of snap-fasteners.

According to a further features, the front body assembly is joined to the back body assembly by adjustable'shoulder and waist straps.

Such a body amour jacket, since it is provided with a front closure, may be easily donned and doffed, and may be conveniently opened when desired for purposes of comfort or ventilation.

Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION THE DRAWINGS The invention is herein described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings,

wherein:

FIG. l is a front elevational view of a body armour jacket constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of. the body armour jacket of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of the body armour jacket of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view corresponding to FIG. 1 but illustrating the center armour flap in its open position to permit opening and closing the front closure fastener.

DESCRIPTION or THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The body armour jacket illustrated in the drawings.

comprises a front assembly, generally designated 2, and a back assembly, generally designated 4, both joined together by adjustable shoulder straps 6 and adjustable waist straps 8. The straps are made adjustable by the provision of buckles 10 in the shoulder straps, and buckles 12 in thewaist straps.

The back assembly, as shown in FIG. 3, comprises a single fabric carrier 14 and a single rigid armour plate insert 16 disposed within the fabric carrier. The shoulder straps 6 and waist straps 8 are fixed, as by stitching, to the fabric carrier 14.

Front assembly 2, is made of three parts, namely a right armour section 22, a left armour section 24, and a center armour flap 26. Each of the foregoing is also made of a fabric carrier (22a, 24a, 26a), and a rigid armour plate insert (22b, 24b, 26b) carried within its respective fabric carrier. If desired, the fabric carriers of the right and left sections may also be fonned with pockets as shown at 28 and 30, respectively.

As shown particularly in FIG. 4 (wherein the center armour flap 26 is pivoted open), the ends of the right and left sections 2 and 4 are disposed in abutting relationship and are fastened together by an openable and closable slide-fastener 32, e.g., a zip-fastener. The center armour flap 26 is hingedly mounted, as by stitching, to the left armour section 24 along line 34, which line is spaced from the abutting end of that section. In addition, the center flap is fastenable to the right armour section by a line of snap fasteners, the female snaps 36 of which are located along a line on the fabric carrier 24a of the right'section 24 spaced inwardly from its abutting end, and the male snaps 38 of which are located along a line on the fabric carrier 26a of the center armour flap 26 spaced slightly from the corresponding end of the flap.

The arrangement is such that when the center armour flap 26 is closed (FIG. 1), its rigid armour insert 26b completely bridges the abutting ends of the right and left armour inserts 22b, 24b. of the sections. The armour insert 26b of the center flap thus provides armour portection for the region occupied by the front closure 32.

It will thus be seen that the body armour jacket illus- I trated may be opened from the front merely by detaching snaps 36, 38, thereby permitting the center armour flap to be pivoted open; and then opening the center slide-fastener 32 to open the jacket. To close the jacket, slide-fastener 32 is closed, and then fasteners 38 are snapped into fasteners 36 to close the center armour flap 26. 1'

The armour inserts may be rigid reinforced fiberglass or ceramic. The invention could also be used withsoft armour inserts, such as nylon.

It will thus be seen that the body armour jacket illustrated is provided with a front closure system which permits the jacket to be conveniently donned, doffed and opened for purposes of comfort or ventilation.

Many modifications, variations, and other applications of the illustrated embodiment will be apparent.

What is claimed is:

l. A body armour jacket including a front body assembly and a back body assembly joined thereto, characterized in that the front body assembly comprises a right armour section, a left armour section, and a center armour flap, the end of the right and left armour sections being in abutting relationship and being fa stened together by a first openable and closable fastener, the centre armour flap being hinged to one of said sections along a line spaced from its abutting end and being fastenable by a second openable and closable fastener to the other of said sections along a line spaced from its abutting end such that the center armour flap, when closed, bridges the abutting ends of both said armour sections.

2. A jacket according to claim 1, wherein said right and left armour sections and said center armour flap each comprises a fabric carrier and a rigid armour plate insert.

3. A jacket according to claim 1, wherein said center armour flap is hinged to said one section by stitching.

4. A jacket according to claim 1, wherein said first fastener is a slide-fastener.

5. A jacket according to claim 1, wherein said second fastener comprises a line of snap-fasteners.

6. A jacket according to claim 1, wherein said front body assembly is joined to the back body assembly by adjustable shoulder and waist straps.

7. A jacket according to claim 1, wherein said back body assembly comprises a fabric carrier and a rigid armour plate insert. 

1. A body armour jacket including a front body assembly and a back body assembly joined thereto, characterized iN that the front body assembly comprises a right armour section, a left armour section, and a center armour flap, the end of the right and left armour sections being in abutting relationship and being fastened together by a first openable and closable fastener, the centre armour flap being hinged to one of said sections along a line spaced from its abutting end and being fastenable by a second openable and closable fastener to the other of said sections along a line spaced from its abutting end such that the center armour flap, when closed, bridges the abutting ends of both said armour sections.
 2. A jacket according to claim 1, wherein said right and left armour sections and said center armour flap each comprises a fabric carrier and a rigid armour plate insert.
 3. A jacket according to claim 1, wherein said center armour flap is hinged to said one section by stitching.
 4. A jacket according to claim 1, wherein said first fastener is a slide-fastener.
 5. A jacket according to claim 1, wherein said second fastener comprises a line of snap-fasteners.
 6. A jacket according to claim 1, wherein said front body assembly is joined to the back body assembly by adjustable shoulder and waist straps.
 7. A jacket according to claim 1, wherein said back body assembly comprises a fabric carrier and a rigid armour plate insert. 